Omar Kennedy | Homicide Watch Trenton

Convicted murderer Mada Eoff gets 38 years in Trenton slaying

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 19:08:26 -0400

Convicted murderer Mada Eoff has been sentenced to 38 years of state incarceration for shooting and killing 19-year-old Lance Beckett in September 2016.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

“Thirty years is real time,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward told The Trentonian on Friday, “and that is what he is going to serve before he is eligible for parole.”

Eoff was 17 when he murdered the victim in cold blood. He turned 19 last week.

Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier sentenced Eoff on Friday to 38 years of incarceration and ordered him to serve 85 percent of the sentence behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.

Eoff murdered Beckett during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. to discover the victim lying face down in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city. One shot struck Beckett in the neck, another shot struck him in the left shoulder and the kill shot entered through his back and exited through his chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Police arrested Eoff several days after the slaying. He was initially prosecuted as a 17-year-old juvenile, but authorities waived him up to adult court in April 2017 and placed him on pretrial detention.

At the murder trial on Jan. 25, a jury delivered a mixed-verdict finding Eoff guilty of first-degree murder but not guilty of second-degree gun possession charges. The defense filed a motion seeking a judgment of acquittal in response to the mixed-verdict, but the trial judge sided with the prosecution and upheld the murder conviction.

A grand jury originally indicted three co-defendants on first-degree murder charges in the slaying of Beckett. Eoff took his case to trial and lost, but the other two co-defendants pleaded guilty for their roles in the slaying and received lighter punishments.

Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, is serving a three-year prison sentence at the Central Reception and Assignment Facility in Ewing for confessing to third-degree aggravated assault in the homicide case. He is scheduled to be released on June 3, 2019, according to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Quashawn Emanuel, 20, is serving out an eight-year prison sentence at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility in Chesterfield for pleading guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter in the slaying of Beckett. He is scheduled to be released on July 10, 2023, according to DOC records.

With the case being closed, Ward said he hopes the victim’s family can heal.

“It is my hope that they can continue to move forward and do their best to heal,” he said Friday in an interview with The Trentonian. “At least they don’t have to worry about coming to court anymore.”

“You could never get closure for something like this,” Ward said, “but the criminal process is coming to an end with the sentencing.”

With Eoff receiving almost two years of jail credit, he must serve about 30 years in the slammer before becoming eligible for parole under his 38-year prison sentence pursuant to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.

“I thought it was a very fair and reasonable sentence,” Ward said. “Because the defendant was a juvenile when he committed the crime, he is going to be treated differently under the law than if he were an adult. With the sentence he got, he won’t be eligible for parole until he is in his 50s, so I think that is fair given the circumstances.”

“Thirty years is real time,” Ward added, “and that is what he is going to serve before he is eligible for parole.”

Despite being convicted of murder, Eoff maintains his innocence and will likely file an appeal with the New Jersey Judiciary’s Appellate Division.

Co-defendant in Trenton murder case reaches generous plea deal: 3 years for assault

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 19:12:02 -0400

A co-defendant charged with murdering 19-year-old Lance Beckett has confessed to aggravated assault in a deal that recommends he serve three years behind bars.

Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with third-degree aggravated assault, effectively bringing final resolution to the homicide case.

Omar Kennedy (Mugshots.com)

The person most responsible for Beckett’s violent death is convicted murderer Mada Eoff, 18, who was found guilty Jan. 25 in a trial by jury.

Beckett got shot and killed during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. and finding his dead body lying in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city.

Another co-defendant in the case, 19-year-old Quashawn Emanuel, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter and testified against Eoff at trial. He said Eoff is the triggerman who shot and killed Beckett in cold blood.

Quashawn Emanuel

Because Emanuel cooperated, the state will dismiss his weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act for reckless manslaughter. Emanuel did not pull the trigger but played a role in luring Beckett to the scene to get murdered.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward. Prosecutors said the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Kennedy, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Count one in the indictment charged all three defendants with purposeful murder; count two charged the defendants with unlawful possession of a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry; and count three charged the defendants with possession of a handgun with the purpose to use it unlawfully against the victim.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

A jury found Eoff guilty of murdering Beckett but acquitted him on the weapons offenses. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, but the hearing got postponed because his defense attorney Jessica Lyons needed to submit more procedural paperwork. A new sentencing date has not been rescheduled at this time, but Eoff is still looking at 30 years to life imprisonment when all is said and done.

Emanuel is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 20 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw, and Kennedy is scheduled to be sentenced 9 a.m. April 27 before Warshaw.

Because Kennedy pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, prosecutors have agreed to dismiss his indictment and will recommend he get sentenced to three years of state imprisonment for his role in the September 2016 murder. Judges usually sentence defendants according to the terms of a plea deal.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after Beckett got murdered and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. All three will likely be awarded with significant jail credit at sentencing, which means Kennedy could potentially serve a very short stint in state prison if Warshaw honors the plea agreement.

Judge upholds Trenton murder conviction in slaying of Lance Beckett

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 18:37:18 -0500

Coldhearted killer Mada Eoff, who was convicted last month on first-degree murder charges while also being acquitted of weapons offenses, now faces 30 years to life in state prison after a judge upheld his mixed verdict.

Eoff murdered 19-year-old Lance Beckett during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. to discover the victim lying face down in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue in the capital city.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

One shot struck Beckett in the neck, another shot struck him in the left shoulder and the kill shot entered through his back and exited through his chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. A jury on Jan. 25 found Eoff, 18, to be fully responsible for the murder and handed down a verdict finding him guilty on that count.

But prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Eoff possessed a handgun without a permit and that he possessed it for the purpose to commit murder, so the jury found Eoff not guilty on both of the weapons offense counts.

Public defender Jessica Lyons argued for the Superior Court to overturn the murder conviction, saying it was “inconsistent” for her client to be convicted of murder while simultaneously being exonerated of the weapons offenses.

“Under case law, mixed verdicts are generally permitted,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward told the court on Jan 25. “As a general rule, they are permitted.”

After three weeks of thoughtful consideration, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier made his decision last Friday. He sided with the prosecution and denied the defense motion that had sought a judgment of acquittal on Eoff’s murder conviction. The defense motioned for a new trial, but Billmeier also shot that request down last Friday, court records show.

The state won a murder conviction in the case against Eoff despite having no DNA evidence, no murder weapon and no fingerprints linking him to the crime. But what the state did have, however, was a co-defendant in the case who testified under oath that Eoff shot and killed Beckett in cold blood.

The testimony of Quashawn Emanuel, 19, who previously pleaded guilty in the case to a downgraded count of second-degree reckless manslaughter, proved to be “very important in the case,” Ward said in an interview following Eoff’s conviction.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Ward. Prosecutors said the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after the September 2016 slaying and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. Eoff was initially prosecuted as a 17-year-old juvenile, but authorities waived him to adult court last April and placed him on pretrial detention. He turned 18 last July.

Emanuel’s plea deal required him to testify against Eoff. In return for his cooperation, the state will dismiss Emanuel’s weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act for reckless manslaughter. Emanuel did not pull the trigger but played a role in luring Beckett to the scene to get murdered.

Emanuel and Kennedy both remain locked up at the Mercer County Correction Center on $1 million full bond or cash bail, while the convicted murderer Eoff remains held without bail. Kennedy is represented by pool attorney Steven Lember and is scheduled for a March 5 pretrial conference before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw.

Convicted murderer Eoff is scheduled to be sentenced 2:30 p.m. March 23 before Judge Billmeier.

Self-confessed killer Emanuel is represented by private defense attorney Ross Gigliotti and is scheduled to be sentenced April 20 before Warshaw for reckless manslaughter.

Self-confessed Trenton killer to testify at co-defendant’s murder trial

Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 16:31:25 -0500

An accomplice who facilitated the September 2016 shooting death of 19-year-old Lance Beckett has pleaded guilty while the alleged triggerman in the case is being tried on murder charges.

Quashawn Emanuel, 19, has admitted his role in the homicide under a plea deal that requires he testify against alleged triggerman Mada Eoff, 18, of Trenton, whose murder trial kicked off Tuesday with opening statements.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

Eoff, who is 6-foot-4 and 195-pounds, appeared calm when a prosecutor emphasized the defendant’s height and braided hairstyle. He looked confident when a public defender suggested the state has no scientific or physical evidence to win a conviction.

“Mada Eoff shot Lance Beckett three times,” Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward told the jury in his opening salvo. “Mada Eoff murdered Lance Beckett.”

The slaying occurred during the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2016, with Trenton Police arriving on the scene about 2:50 p.m. to discover Beckett’s dying body lying face down in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue. One shot struck him in the neck, another shot struck him in the left shoulder and the kill shot entered through his back and exited through his chest, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Surveillance footage in the area shows Beckett and three other individuals interacting with one another minutes before the grisly murder, according to Ward. Prosecutors say the three culprits were co-defendants Eoff, Emanuel and Omar Kennedy, 36, of Trenton, all of whom have been indicted on murder charges and weapons offenses in connection with the homicide.

Police arrested Eoff and Emanuel several days after the slaying and arrested Kennedy three weeks later. Eoff was initially prosecuted as a 17-year-old juvenile, but authorities waived him to adult court last April and placed him on pretrial detention. He turned 18 last July.

Public defenders Amber Forrester and Jessica Lyons represented Eoff as his trial commenced Tuesday with opening statements before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Billmeier.

Forrester described her client as an “innocent young man accused of murder” and said the state’s “entire case relies on one witness” — co-defendant Quashawn Emanuel — who she painted as an unreliable witness.

“Mada Eoff was innocent when he woke up this morning,” Forrester told the jury in her Tuesday opening, adding her client will be exonerated as an innocent man if and when the jury returns a verdict of not guilty.

Eoff’s jury of nine men and five women is diverse, but none of the jurors appear to be black. Eoff, an African-American, is the tall young male with braids in a blue sweatshirt caught on video mingling with Beckett minutes before the murder, prosecutors said.

A grand jury indicted the trio of Eoff, Emanuel and Kennedy on June 29, 2017. Eoff and Kennedy maintain their innocence, while Emanuel has pleaded guilty Dec. 13, 2017, to a downgraded count of second-degree manslaughter committed recklessly.

The plea deal requires Emanuel to testify against Eoff. In return, the state will dismiss Emanuel’s weapons offenses and ask a judge to sentence him to eight years of incarceration under the No Early Release Act.

Emanuel and Kennedy both remain locked up at the Mercer County Correction Center on $1 million full bond or cash bail, while Eoff is being held without bail on allegations he unlawfully possessed a handgun and used it for the purpose of murdering Beckett.

Kennedy is represented by pool attorney Steven Lember and is scheduled for a pretrial conference 1:30 p.m. Jan 29 before Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw.

Emanuel is represented by private defense attorney Ross Gigliotti and is scheduled to be sentenced March 23 before Warshaw.

Prosecutors: Suspect stomped Trenton teen to make sure he was dead

Isaac Avilucea — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:51:49 -0400

Omar Kennedy is accused of delivering the coupe de grace, if not the kill shot.

Afterwards, he was all smiles about it, prosecutors said.

Omar Kennedy (Mugshots.com)

Kennedy, 34, and two others are charged with murder and weapons offenses after they walked 19-year-old Lance Beckett into an alleyway where he was fatally shot the afternoon of Sept. 18, prosecutors said at a bail hearing Thursday.

One of the suspects let off four shots, mortally wounding the city teenager.

For good measure, Kennedy stomped on Beckett’s head “to ensure he was dead,” while he bled out in a wooded area near East Stuyvesant Avenue, Assistant Prosecutor Tim Ward said.

Quashawn Emanuel, 18, and a 17-year-old boy are also charged in the slaying of Beckett, who died at the scene.

Prosecutors haven't said who fired the fatal shot, but Emanuel denied shooting Beckett to death, while admitting he knew he was sleepwalking the teenager to his death.

Prosecutors will likely waive up the 17-year-old boy as an adult.

With his shirt off and dangling out his back pocket, Kennedy was caught on tape laughing and joking with his co-defendants at a deli not long after the killing, Ward said.

Surveillance tapes helped authorities track down the suspected killers after witnesses provided police with vital clothing descriptions.

Quashawn Emanuel

One witness described to police seeing one suspect stomp Beckett’s head.

That turned out to be Kennedy, who was interviewed by authorities prior to fleeing to Virginia, Ward said.

The prosecutor said detectives initially released Kennedy without charging him.

Feeling the heat, Kennedy fled to Virginia, where he was picked up this month by U.S. Marshals NY/NJRegional Fugitive Task Force, prosecutors said.

Kennedy was brought back to the Garden State, where he admitted he was on surveillance tapes and present when the murder happened, Ward said.

He also acknowledged fleeing after the murder, prosecutors said.

Jenna Casper, Kennedy’s attorney, said her client maintains his innocence and didn’t run from authorities. He went to Virginia to attend an aunt’s funeral.

Casper questioned the strength of evidence against Kennedy if authorities let him walk the first time, prior to arresting him in Virginia.

“He was not involved with the actual shooting,” she said.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

Kennedy has been arrested 17 times, in Virginia, South Carolina and New Jersey. He has six felony convictions, including for drugs, hindering, child abuse and contempt.

He had just gotten out of jail months before the murder, Ward said.

The prosecutor said Kennedy proved, “There’s not a risk of flight. There’s a certainty of flight.”

A judge maintained bail at $1 million, the same as for Emanuel, while the 17-year-old boy is housed at a Middlesex County juvenile jail.

Third man arrested for alleged role in Lance Beckett murder

Penny Ray — Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:09:59 -0400

Omar Kennedy (Mugshots.com)

A third man has been arrested for his alleged role in the death of a city teen who was shot and stomped in Trenton last month.

Omar Kennedy, 34, is charged with murder and related weapons offenses in connection with the shooting death of 19-year-old Lance Beckett. Kennedy was arrested Wednesday morning at a home in Richmond, Virginia.

Officials say the U.S. Marshals NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force developed leads on Kennedy’s whereabouts and sent that information to its counterpart in Virginia. Kennedy is being held at the Richmond Justice Center pending extradition to New Jersey. His bail was set at $1 million.

Beckett was gunned down shortly before 3 p.m. on September 18. Police found him lying in the grass along East Stuyvesant Avenue suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Citizens told The Trentonian they heard five gunshots, one of which sounded different than the other four, and that one of the shooters stomped on Beckett’s head after he dropped to the ground.

Lance Beckett (Facebook photo)

Beckett was pronounced dead at the scene.

Quashawn Emanuel, 18, and a 17-year-old male were arrested in connection with Beckett’s death a few days after the shooting, and charged with murder and weapons offenses.

At a bail hearing, prosecutors said Emanuel denied shooting Beckett, but admitted he knew he was “sleepwalking” him to his death.

Prosecutors believe Emanuel lured Beckett into the alley, but officials have not said whether the juvenile, Kennedy or both fired the fatal gunshots.

Emanuel is being held on $1 million bail; the 17-year-old boy is being housed in the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center. Charges against the unidentified teen are being heard, at the moment, in juvenile court. But there’s a possibility he’ll face charges as an adult.